Discover the 7 things that every bride should know before her wedding day. I wish someone would have told me these things before my own wedding! It would have saved me quite a few unnecessary headaches. And I thought I was well versed on wedding planning, but in hindsight, I spent too much time on minor details like the color of my linens and the perfect shoes for my flower girls and not enough thought was given to these 7 items. My gift to you today is some insight into those things I wish I’d known, so that your wedding can be as stress-free and perfect as possible!
1. Get Experienced Same Day Help
Not hiring a dedicated, experienced, same day helper is the #1 mistake I made with my wedding. This is also the biggest mistake budget-conscious brides have shared with us that they’ve made. What is same day help? While the very best wedding venues will have staff on hand to assist with the facilities, they aren’t going to tell your bridal party when to start walking down the aisle, what the guests should be doing while you’re getting pictures taken, coordinating your vendors, checking mics, arranging signs and seating, pruning florals and so many other details that need to be handled so that you and your guests can relax and enjoy themselves.
As a tight budget bride myself, I thought the order of events and seemingly smaller details of my wedding day would work themselves out naturally. They didn’t. And as we have seen from other budget-strapped brides over the years, no event naturally goes smoothly without a dedicated, same-day manager to direct the flow of your big day from start to finish. As helpful and supportive as friends and family members can be, this role requires someone extremely experienced in what to do, and when to do it, regardless of what surprises may pop up last minute. Plus, it could add a potentially stressful burden to someone close to you who would prefer to focus on celebrating with you rather than worrying about being the reason something went wrong on one of the biggest days of your life.
Where can you find an incredibly experienced, ultra helpful, super affordable, same day manager? Introducing the Ever After Farms Wedding Day Management service! With more than 2,000 weddings under our belt, we have mastered the art of same day management and we know the ins and outs of our venues better than anyone else so when we are in charge of directing your wedding, it goes as smooth as silk. Avoid the stress of trying to do everything yourself by allowing our team of Happily Ever After Specialists help make your wedding day dreams come true!
2. Don’t Skip Your Final Tour
Your Final Tour is your most important wedding venue meeting. Most people assume that the Rehearsal is the most important meeting but in reality, by the time of the Rehearsal, it’s way too late in the wedding planning process for all the details to be finalized. The Final Tour is where you finalize your game plan that then will be practiced at the Rehearsal. Plus, you can better enjoy your Rehearsal with all of your favorite people because you won’t still be heavy planning on that night!
At Ever After Farms, we will go through all of the details of your wedding day on your final tour; from your centerpiece choices, ceremony decor, and table arrangements, to your vendor list and any special requirements or requests. Bring a written list of questions and concerns so that you don’t forget anything. If you hired us as your Same Day Manager, we will guide you through every step of the Final Tour process so that you don’t forget anything. And while this may seem obvious, it’s also crucial that you don’t schedule your final tour too far in advance of your wedding day. The ideal time frame is about 1 month before your wedding.
3. Distribute Your Day-of Schedule
While this is standard operating procedure with our same day management, this simple idea is far-too-often neglected by couples and they later regret it. Distribute your Day-of Schedule to every member of your wedding party. Also, summarize your Day-of Schedule for your guests on your wedding website. Don’t make this a secret. By distributing your day-of schedule, everyone will be on the same page and that will create a much smoother experience.
4. Hire a Sitter
Consider hiring a babysitting service or designate an attendee to be responsible for the kiddos. Everyone attending the wedding deserves the chance to relax and enjoy themselves, and what better way to guarantee toddlers don’t run past your cake cutting or interrupt your first dance, than by having designated help keep them occupied? There are also a lot of really neat and trendy ideas on Pinterest for fun “Kid Table” setups and games that your sitters can utilize to keep all of the children at the wedding happy and entertained.
5. De-Stress the Week Prior
Schedule your to-do list to end one week prior to your wedding. It is so much more rewarding when you’re not running around with your head cut off, making last minute preparations, while your favorite friends and family are in town. You’ve spent the last year or so spending all of your spare time planning every detail of your wedding, reward yourself by actually relaxing and enjoying yourself the days leading to your big day. Schedule a spa day a few days prior to relax and get primped with your favorite girlfriends.
6. Choose Your Vendors Wisely
While you may only need a few day-of vendors (if you chose an inclusive venue like Ever After Farms), Vendor selection is still very important. If you’re like me, you haven’t hired a bunch of people or companies in your life to do work for you, so you may not have a whole lot of experience with it. It can be deceptively challenging to get this right. An incredible cake baker who is very disorganized may create the most wonderful cake for you, but get the design completely wrong. A DJ may be epic with crowds but bad with pronouncing names and butcher the best man’s name. The caterer may prepare incredibly tasty food but be habitually late. Then there is the issue of hiring Vendors who have never provided their services at your venue and no matter how good they are, they have a learning curve on your big day. Yikes! With so much real world experience, we know who is great and who is not. And you can get free instant access to our Ever After Farms Preferred Vendors List. You can’t go wrong hiring from our Preferred List.
7. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Finally, when it comes to one of the most important days of your life, it can often be forgotten and sounds cliché, but it’s still so true…don’t sweat the small stuff. Nothing in life will ever be perfect, but the important thing is that you are marrying the love of your life surrounded by the people you love (and maybe a few distant relatives you’ve never met but your MIL insisted on inviting). Do your very best to not sweat the small stuff that may not go as planned. If it rains, grab a clear umbrella to create romantic wedding photos that will capture memories to last a lifetime. If the DJ plays the wrong song, dance your butt off, and play the right song next. Enjoy every single moment because in the blink of an eye, you’ll be like me, reminiscing all of the cherished times I had with my favorite people, marrying my very best friend.
BONUS TIP! Plan a Date with Your Fiance
Schedule a date with your fiancé before the wedding day. It will be profoundly meaningful in nurturing the bond between you both and ensuring a seamless transition into married life. Amidst the flurry of wedding preparations, carving out time for a date offers a chance for intimate connection and shared moments, strengthening the emotional ties between the bride and the groom. It creates a space for relaxation, away from the pressures of planning, allowing partners to prioritize each other and their relationship. Additionally, planning a date opens communication about expectations, desires, and concerns surrounding the impending marriage, fostering mutual understanding and alignment. This pre-wedding rendezvous lays a solid foundation for a resilient and fulfilling relationship, setting the stage for a harmonious journey into marriage.
NOTE! So many past couples have texted and thanked us for this bonus tip. Couples often get lost in the small details of planning a wedding and forget the bigger picture; that a wedding is one day, but a marriage is forever.
Congratulations! I hope that by sharing these 7 things I wish I’d known on my wedding day, I can help you formulate a solid game plan that will result in the most perfect wedding day ever!
7 Things I Wish I’d Known Before My Wedding Day